Who We Are

Jeanette Koelsch, Program Director
Jeanette Koelsch is the Superintendent of Bering Land Bridge National Preserve in Alaska, USA and the Director of the Shared Beringian Heritage Program.Jeanette’s family has strong roots in the region. Her Siberian Yupik grandmother came to St. Lawrence Island, Alaska from Chukotka, Russa, as a bride. Koelsch grew up in a household where people spoke and sung in Yupik, English, and occasional Russian. Her desire to work in conservation started when she began working as a park ranger for Bering Land Bridge National Preserve. What motivated her were the park's resources and the local people who depend on them for their cultural and subsistence way of life.
Koelsch believes that conservation and cultural survival go hand and hand. In the last decades residents of Bering Strait communities have observed increased coastal erosion, wetter and warmer winters, permafrost thaw and longer and stronger spring and fall storm events, all of which threatening people’s ability to continue their traditional subsistence lifestyle. Working with local and indigenous peoples of both US and Russian sides of Bering Strait on adapting to these changes and preserving their shard heritage is one of her chief personal and professional priorities. Contact Jeanette Koelsch

Nicole (Nikki) Braem, Cultural Anthropologist

Nikki serves as the cultural anthropologist for Bering Land Bridge National Preserve in Alaska and is part of the SBHP team. She first arrived in Alaska in 1992 for what was to be a one-year volunteering stint… but Alaska had other plans. She has lived and worked in various places since then, including Ketchikan, Anchorage, Fairbanks but considers Nome “home.” She grew up in suburban Detroit, graduating with a B.A. from the University of Detroit Mercy and later received a masters degree in Northern Studies from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Prior to joining NPS, she served as the Arctic team lead at the Division of Subsistence, Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game. She currently lives in Nome, enjoying as much time outdoors as possible. Contact Nikki Braem

Jacob Martin, Program Specialist (Program Manager)
Jacob joined the SBHP in December of 2021. Previously, he was the Tribal Resources Program Manager at Nome Eskimo Community, the largest federally recognized tribe in the Bering Strait Region. In Jacob’s previous position, he worked with tribal, local, state, and federal agencies on issues affecting regional subsistence, fish, wildlife and marine mammal management, recycling and pollution, climate change, Arctic shipping and development, migratory bird management, invasive species, repatriation of human remains and air and water quality monitoring. He also conducted outreach efforts centered around environmental awareness and mitigations. His expertise is in subsistence, cultural resources, tribal environmental management, and Arctic climate change which complement the Beringia Program purpose and goals. Contact Jacob Martin

Evguenia (Jenya) Anichtchenko, Russian Language Specialist, Outreach Coordinator
Native of St. Petersburg, Russia, Jenya Anichtchenko came to Alaska over 15 years ago for a three-week long archaeological project and found herself moving to the Aleutian Islands three months later. Jenya’s background is in history, anthropology and archaeology. She holds MA in maritime studies from the East Carolina University, NC and PhD in maritime archaeology from the Southampton University. Prior to joining the SBHP Anichtchenko held a number of positions, including curatorial appointments at the Museum of the Aleutians, Anchorage Museum and Sitka Historical Museum, and run her own interpretation and archaeological consulting business. Her fascination with Bering Strait communities and ecosystem began as an academic interest and grew into commitment to fostering cultural and research connections and collaborations between US and Russia in Beringia and Alaska in general. Contact Jenya Anichtchenko

Eduard Zdor, SBHP Indigenous Fellow 2023-24
Eduard Zdor is a traditional subsistence hunter and scholar from Chukotka with over 20 years of experience in conducting and leading joint Alaska-Chukotka projects on traditional ecological knowledge and subsistence.
Zdor was born in Khatyrka, and spent formative years of his life in Neshkan, Chukotka. For many years he has represented marine hunting communities in international and regional forums as an advocate for the benefits of sharing and incorporating Indigenous knowledge and observations.
Eduard’s ties with the Shared Beringian Heritage Program go back several decades. As a Chair of the Association of Traditional Marine Mammal Hunters of Chukotka he served as a PI and co-PI on a number of the SBHP projects. He is a recipient of 2011 David Hopkins award and author of a book and over a dozen of reports and articles. In spring of 2023, Zdor received PhD in anthropology from University of Alaska, Fairbanks.